Florrie Baldwin
Florence Emily Baldwin (née Davies) (31 March 1896 – 8 May 2010) was, at the time of her death, the oldest living person in the United Kingdom and Europe. Biography Born Florence Emily Davies in the Hunslet district of Leeds, she was the daughter of Methuselah Davies (1861–1946) from Dowlais, Wales and Florence Susannah Bird (1863–1926) from Aylsham, Norfolk.Ancestry.co.uk Census returns She remembered the Boer War and, at the age of four, seeing Queen Victoria when she visited Leeds.Flo, 111, celebrates birthday | The Sun |HomePage|NewsA toast to Florrie on her 111th birthday In 1920, she married painter and decorator Clifford Baldwin and moved to Woodhouse.Yorkshire Births Marriages & Deaths After his death in 1973, Baldwin lived alone until she was 105, still being able to put up curtains and clean windows.Leeds woman celebrates 113th birthday She then moved to Radcliffe Gardens, a nursing home in Leeds.Birthday girls celebrate: One is 21, the other 111 – This Britain, UK – Independent.co.uk She credited her longevity to eating a fried egg sandwich every day.Good egg Florrie aged 110 | The Sun |HomePage|NewsOldest woman in Britain reveals 110-year secret – Yorkshire Post However doctors reputedly thought it could be due to her job as a clerk at an engineering firm for fifty years, which she retired from at the age of 75. The company was based on top a steep hill in Woodhouse, Leeds. "She would walk up that hill, come home at lunchtime and then back up it" commented a grandson. Baldwin's daughter believes her mother's longevity was due to no drinking, no smoking and hard work. Baldwin spent time in hospital in her 70s due to cataracts.Guinness World Records to attend Florrie's party Following the death of Italian woman Lucia Lauria on 28 June 2009, Baldwin became the oldest living person in Europe. Baldwin became one of the 100 verified oldest women ever on 14 October 2009 and one of the 70 verified oldest people ever on 22 April 2010. Baldwin became the second oldest living person from the death of Japanese Kama Chinen on May 2, 2010, until her death six days later. Baldwin was in good health until the age of 111, when she began developing short-term memory loss which progressed into dementia and had very few memories of the past in the last months of her life. She was the last living person in the UK born in 1896. Meet Florrie Baldwin, Europe's oldest person Records * On 9 February 2007, Aida Mason died, and Baldwin 110 years 315 days became the oldest living person in the UK. * On 28 June 2009, Lucia Lauria Vigna died, and Baldwin 113 years 89 days became the oldest living person in Europe. * On 2 May 2010, Kama Chinen died, and Baldwin age 114 years 32 days became the second oldest living person in the world. * On 8 May 2010, Florrie Baldwin died, age 114 years 38 days, and Eunice Bowman became the oldest living person in the UK and Venere Pizzinato became the oldest living person in Europe. Maria Gomes Valentim became the second oldest living person in the world (behind Eugénie Blanchard). See also *List of British supercentenarians *List of European supercentenarians *List of the verified oldest people *Living national longevity recordholders References External links *Validated Living Supercentenarians *The Oldest Human Beings Category:1896 births Category:2010 deaths Category:English supercentenarians Category:People from Hunslet Category:Women of the Victorian era Category:People of the Edwardian era Category:Females Category:Characters Category:Old people Category:Old women Category:People who did not get WOP Category:Picked celebrities